


Darkness There, And Nothing More

by thebirdroads



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen, Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:53:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22180588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebirdroads/pseuds/thebirdroads
Summary: Manuela gets wrangled into chaperoning the Golden Deer on a ghost hunt.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	Darkness There, And Nothing More

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Saaron](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saaron/gifts).



From a distance, Garreg Mach seemed impregnable, a fortress able to withstand even the full might of an invading army, and this was mostly true. However, the torrential downpours of the Verdant Rain Moon were another matter entirely. No building in existence was wholly leak proof, and a monastery that had been standing for well over a thousand years was no exception, no matter how sturdy its walls. The rains had found leaks wherever they could and had seeped through, giving some of the less rigidly maintained buildings a pervasive, damp chill. Manuela shivered and tightened her coat around herself. 

“How did I ever get roped into this?” Manuela asked herself out loud, dreading having to leave the relative warmth of her quarters, having been coerced into chaperoning Hanneman’s class on their idiotic “ghost hunt”. Byleth had bluntly refused to help, and Hanneman, the bastard, had excused himself, claiming to have an experiment he couldn’t take his eyes off for a moment. Manuela scoffed. More likely the old fart thought he was simply too important to waste any time on this nonsense. “Better to send Manuela,” Manuela said in a completely inaccurate impression of her colleague, “it’s not like SHE has any plans after all those knights turned her down.” With another grumble, she left her room, and began the trudge to the agreed upon meeting point with the Golden Deer. 

“Hey, Manuela! Over here!”

Claude waved from the table in the dining hall that he and his classmates were occupying, the dining hall still open for students wanting something to eat after a late night study session. He was sitting next to Hilda, who was idly twirling a spoon around her cup of tea. Across from them was Lorenz, posture as haughty as ever, and Raphael, currently stuffing his face with meat of some kind. Leonie and Ignatz were going through Ignatz’s sketchbook with Marianne, who had one of her rare smiles on her face. Lysithea, in contrast, seemed even more tightly wound than usual, and Manuela was already worried the poor girl would snap clean in half one day. Manuela strode over to the table and folded her arms.

“Well, Claude, for what reason, exactly, did you drag me from my nice warm bed ?”

“Well, we figured you were lonely up there!”

Manuela scowled and Hilda snorted into her cup.

“Claude…” Manuela warned, an edge of danger entering her voice.

“Oh, alright, we couldn’t get permission to go on this little jaunt without ‘adult supervision’, and nobody else was biting.” He leaned forward on his elbows, chin cupped in his hands. “Plus, it was the only way to get Lysithea to tag along.”

Lysithea scowled. 

“For the record, Claude, I think this is a stupid idea, and I simply thought having one of the faculty accompany us might rein in your more ridiculous impulses.”

“You’re welcome to make the trek back to your room if you want to opt out, kiddo! Though, I’d be careful. It’s pretty dark in the halls this late, you know.”

Lysithea frowned harder, which Manuela had not thought possible, but said nothing. 

Manuela sighed.

“Alright, well, let’s set some ground rules. Number one: We’re not doing this for longer than an hour. Number two: I reserve the right to call off this stupidity at any time, for any reason. Number three: Don’t piss me off, I’m really not in the mood. Understood?”

The students indicated that she was. 

“Alright. Well, Claude, what, exactly, was your plan for the evening? Any particularly ‘haunted’ locations you want to waste your time in?”

Claude grinned, and Manuela immediately knew she’d made a mistake.

“As a matter of fact, I do!”

Lysithea groaned.

“Claude, please don’t say-”

“The crypts!”

Lysithea groaned, and Manuela slowly ran a hand down her face.

“The crypts, Claude? Really?”

“Not the Holy Tomb, or anything, I know that’s off limits, but just the regular crypts. Figure if anywhere’s bound to have spooky spirits it’s there, right?”

Manuela sighed. This was gonna be a long night. 

\---

The crypts were, to Manuela’s surprise, not as dimly lit as she had feared. Wall sconces every few feet held torches, casting the length of the hallway in a flickering orange glow. Between each pair of sconces was a recess in the wall where coffins were kept. Manuela knew that most of the people at Garreg Mach would be buried in the graveyard, but the crypts were for figures of importance, such as priests, knights, and the like. The crypt felt more lonely than spooky, though judging by how tightly Lysithea was clinging to Leonie, not everyone shared that impression. 

Claude, at the head of their little group, darted ahead.

“Hey, I think I see something down this side passage. I’m gonna go check.”

“Claude, don’t you even think-”

“Relax, Manuela, I’ll be right back.”

With that, he zipped into the alcove, and Manuela grumbled to herself. She would really have to talk to Hanneman about his house’s lack of discipline. That’d be sure to piss him off. She and the other students gathered around the passageway to await his return.

And they waited.

And waited.

After another bout of waiting, Manuela called out.

“Claude? This isn’t particularly amusing, so I’d appreciate it if you stopped messing around.”

Silence.

“Claude?”

Something in the passageway made a dull thumping sound, followed by a slow dragging noise. Thump. Drag. Thump. Drag. Manuela’s stomach dropped as she saw a pale white figure shamble out of the alcove, moaning low. Before she could react, Lysithea shrieked and kicked the spectre between the legs, hard, and then bolted back down the hallway. The ghost wheezed and collapsed to the floor, curling into a ball.

It was only when Manuela heard Claude’s hysterical laughter from a hidden alcove in the passageway that she realized they had been pranked.

The specter, now revealed to be Sylvain covered in flour from the kitchens, whimpered on the floor as Claude and Hilda cackled wildly. 

“Oh my god, I didn’t think the pipsqueak would actually kick you square in the nuts, Sylvain!” shrieked Hilda between gasps for breath.

“Hnngh,” replied Sylvain.

Manuela threw up her hands.

“Well, this was a waste of my time. Tell you what, Claude. I can’t be bothered to give you or Hilda detention for this, and Sylvain has clearly been punished enough. I’m heading back to my room. I trust you can follow Lysithea’s shrieks out of here.”

Without waiting for a response, she stormed off, furious at her night having been wasted on this nonsense.

\---

After checking to make sure Lysithea had made it to her room safely, and reassuring her that it wasn’t an actual ghost, Manuela headed towards her room. Before she reached the stairwell, a gust of wind blew out all the torches. She rolled her eyes and turned around.

“Claude, I said I didn’t feel like giving you detention, but if that was you, then-”

Nobody was there. The only source of light was a stray beam of moonlight entering through the window, and painting a ghostly patch on the floor. The hallway had become very cold.

Manuela blinked. 

“H-hello? Is someone there?”

“Professor…”

Manuela could just barely make out a figure standing just outside of the light. The voice was weak and raspy, but sounded female.

“Who is that? What-”

The figure stepped into the light, and Manuela felt a scream die in her throat.

It was a student, or it had been once, judging by the tattered remains of a Garreg Mach uniform hanging from its emaciated body. It was absolutely drenched in blood, flowing down the front in rivulets, pooling at the figure’s bare feet. The figure’s hair, a matted mess, glistened black in the moonlight.

Manuela took a step back, and the figure spoke again.

“Help...me…”

“I-I-what do you...I-”

The figure’s head snapped up, and Manuela screamed. The entity’s eyes were two black, dark holes, and the mouth was wrenched open in a silent scream.

“HELP ME!!!”

With a shriek, the figure lunged at Manuela, who staggered back, tripped, and fell. As she threw up her hands to defend herself, the torches relit and the figure vanished. The temperature in the hallway returned to normal as Manuela staggered to her feet and ran the rest of the way back to her room. As she slammed the door shut and bolted it, she reflected that perhaps Lysithea had had the right idea.

**Author's Note:**

> Manuela would later realize there was something familiar about the entity she had encountered that night.


End file.
